


Get on with it

by ricekrispyjoints



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkward Flirting, BAMF Haruno Sakura, Banter, Borderline crackfic, Flirting, Gen, M/M, Pining, Pre-Relationship, give karin a personality 2k19, let sakura punch sasuke challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2020-01-25 15:26:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18577255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ricekrispyjoints/pseuds/ricekrispyjoints
Summary: Sai isn't entirely sure what he was expecting when his team finally took down Uchiha Sasuke, but there seems to be a lot more waggling eyebrows than strictly necessary...





	Get on with it

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Siseja](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Siseja/gifts).



> HELLO. this... wasn't supposed to happen. i mean, like a year ago, i had never seen any Naruto ever in my life, and thought it would stay that way. and now here I am, halfway through shippuden and writing fic for this ridiculous show.  
> ANYWAY, this is a *very* belated Christmas and birthday present for my very good friend siseja, who has been guiding me thru this very long, very confusing series...  
> Please note : I LOVE comments. But please, don't include any spoilers for canon during the 4th shinobi war or later !! siseja is very much enjoying the fact that i know nothing about this series and has worked very hard to protect me from spoilers so far haha  
> anyway this was a ridiculous fic and uh,,,, oops.   
> thanks to cloudy for the beta !

As with most things involving Naruto and Sasuke, the confrontation is loud, destructive, and above all, dramatic.

When Sai’s team – the _new_ Team 7, as Sakura often called them – had finally tracked Sasuke down, Sai had had to convince Sakura to not just run straight for Sasuke and gut him like a fish.

But before Sai or Sakura could suggest any kind of plan or coordinated attack – the most logical way to approach the situation, really – Naruto had stepped forward and claimed that only he could get through to Sasuke, since they were friends.

“Getting through to Sasuke” wasn’t high on Sai’s priorities list, and given the derisive scoff from Sasuke, Sai doesn’t really think Naruto understands what “friends” means.

But Sai also knows firsthand the power of Naruto’s naïve optimism, so he shrugs. It can’t hurt to try, right? Especially if this means that Naruto won’t be so depressed on the trip back to Konoha.

He may be reluctant to admit it, but Sai has become rather fond of Naruto, most of the time. It would be disappointing to see him so down.

Sasuke, for his part, isn’t alone. He’s flanked by a redheaded girl and a rather damp looking boy with sharp teeth and nearly shoulder-length white hair.

They’re a curious trio, appearances-wise, but Sai is far more interested in their dynamic.

Sasuke, of course, is dark and brooding and takes himself entirely too seriously for a sixteen-year-old. The energy that radiates from his chakra is deep and a little nauseating.

The girl, whom Sasuke rudely addresses as Karin, seems a bit distracted, if the sappy look at Sasuke is any indication, but Sai refuses to underestimate her. For all he knows, it’s an act. And besides, if she’s hanging around Sasuke, she must have some skills to offer, some way to keep up with him. Sai doesn’t see any obvious weapons, but then again, they’re shinobi, so who knows what she could pull out of a scroll or something. Best to stay vigilant.

The boy is nearly Karin’s opposite in both energy and appearance. He’s equipped with an outrageously large sword, but while Karin is exuding nervous energy, the boy doesn’t seem to have a care in the world. He drinks deeply from a water bottle, and laughs at something Sasuke whispers to him, loud and free and sincere.

Sai thinks he might be more dangerous than Karin, if only for his blasé attitude.

“Well?” Sasuke, says, boredom dripping from his voice. “I’m waiting, Naruto. Let’s see what you think could possibly beat me.”

“I wish it didn’t have to be like this,” Naruto admits, clenching his fists. “It pains me to see you like this, Sasuke. You think no one can possibly understand you, huh?”

Sasuke interrupts Naruto with comedically evil laughter. “Please, spare me your pitiful attempt to understand how I _feel_.”

Sai may be new to the full spectrum of human emotion, but he thinks he could probably give Sasuke a few lessons.

That laugh, for one, was appalling. Sai has read that in order to make a more convincing fake laugh, you shouldn’t let it go on for too long. That cackle lasted a solid fifteen seconds longer than it should have, especially since Naruto didn’t even say anything comedic. It was _uncomfortable._

Sakura is looking on with an expression of … hmm, perhaps “confused disgust” is the proper description? The confusion seems to be inward, perhaps at herself for ever having a crush on Sasuke (Sai isn’t an idiot; that wasn’t hard to figure out), and the disgust, well… that much seems obvious.

Sai wonders if it would be inappropriate to take out some parchment and a pen right now, because he wants to draw her face and add it to his illustrated guide to human emotions.

(He’s got a small collection already; between Sakura and Naruto, he’s seen quite a range, and he thinks that it might help others in his situation learn more quickly. He’d like to publish it someday.)

Karin, the redheaded girl whose expression Sai can’t quite figure out, is clutching her hands together. Sai wants to call the emotion on her face “hopefulness”, but it’s tinged with a sort of feral energy that makes him question his judgement. Perhaps she’s hoping for a bloody fight? Perhaps she’s enamored with Sasuke and worries for his safety?

Based on what Sai knows of the Uchiha boy, he really, _really_ does not understand why Sasuke is so popular with girls. He’s conventionally attractive, Sai supposes, but nothing spectacular. Is the brooding bad-boy really such a draw for girls? Sai doesn’t get it.

He’s not spent long considering what he finds attractive, but Sai decides in that moment that it’s whatever Sasuke _isn’t_.

Karin’s gaze darts almost constantly between Sasuke and Sakura, and Sai breathes deeply.

Sai has mostly tuned out Naruto and Sasuke’s discussion, because quite frankly he’s surprised no one has thrown neither punch nor kunai yet. They’re even speaking at a regular decibel, even. Maybe Naruto is finally growing up?

“In the name of our friendship, Sasuke, I _will_ bring you back to Konoha!” Naruto screams.

Well, there goes that theory. Still, it’s progress, Sai supposes.

“It still counts as bringing Sasuke back to Konoha if it’s only his _corpse_ ,” Sai mutters to himself.

The white-haired boy apparently overheard him, as he lets out a ridiculous sort of giggle-snort.

Sai turns to him, curious.

The boy seems to remember where they are, and gets control of his giggles. “Ahem,” he says. “I mean, not that I want Sasuke to die, but that was funny.”

“Suigetsu! No fraternizing with the enemy!” Karin hisses.

“You’re no fun,” Suigetsu complains. “This fight is ridiculous. They’re just going to beat the shit out of each other, right? I mean, Naruto wouldn’t pick a fight with Sasuke if he couldn’t hold his own at least a little bit, I hope.”

“Naruto is quite powerful,” Sai admits. “I don’t know that he’s ready to use his full strength against Sasuke, though.”

“That’s a shame. Sometimes, I think it’d be really interesting to see Sasuke get his ass handed to him.”

“Oh of course _you_ have no loyalty!” Karin exclaims.

“Oh please, don’t act like it wouldn’t be gratifying to see him get a _little_ roughed up.”

Sai smirks at the two apparent teammates, particularly at Suigetsu. This isn’t exactly where he thought this was going, but he was right to think their dynamic was … interesting.

Karin seems to be a lot more invested than Suigetsu, at least as far as loyalty to Sasuke goes.

Maybe there’s something to work with, here.

“How long have you all been… a team?” Sai asks, trying to continue the conversation.

Sai is well aware of the irony that _he_ is the one trying to be sociable, but it’s probably good practice.

Besides, he’s fairly certain there’s no social protocol to follow here: they’re technically adversaries, and they’re literally just standing around waiting for their teammates to duke it out. If he says something out of line, or offends one of them, they’re already enemies.

Of course, it would be best to avoid incite an actual fight, since there’s a full-blown Sasuke-Naruto showdown happening just a few meters away, but this seems like a safe place to test the waters.

Sai smirks to himself. Or the water _boy_ , he thinks.

“Eh, I dunno,” Suigetsu shrugs. “Don’t get me wrong, I like Sasuke. I do. He helped me get my freedom back, and it’s thanks to him that I have this sword, so I’m happy to repay that debt. But sometimes, the guy gets a little too intense about his goals, which, between you and me? Are pretty unimaginative.”

Sai can understand that. “Naruto has been quite single-minded about ‘saving’ Sasuke,” he shares.

Their budding conversation comes screeching to a halt when Sasuke launches a chidori attack that Naruto deflects and sends hurtling towards the spectators.

“Watch it!” Sakura yells as them.

Karin sighs a bit wistfully at Sasuke’s miss.

Naruto spawns three kagebushin and Sai can’t help but roll his eyes. “He really needs to expand his repertoire of moves,” he mutters.

“Doesn’t that drain a lot of chakra?” Suigetsu comments, dropping his voice low and stepping a little closer to Sai.

“Of course,” Sai shrugs. “But Naruto has vast chakra stores, and he trains like this all the time. It’s why it’s one of the only moves he seems to use in battle, I suppose.”

“If I had that much chakra, I think I’d do something more creative than just clone myself,” Suigetsu says, and there’s a hint of … mischievousness, perhaps? That Sai can’t quite place. “Like, are there any cool justu you could do if only you had a third hand?”

“Well, if you wait a few minutes, it’s only a matter of time before he—ah, yes, there it is,” Sai says, as two of the kagebushin work together to create the rasengan.          

Suigetsu considers the move. “Alright, that’s pretty cool,” he admits. “But why does it take two of him?”

Sai chuckles. “Naruto is many things, but adept at chakra manipulation isn’t exactly one of them. I wouldn’t even particularly describe him as a ‘skilled’ shinobi. Hard working, yes. And persistent. But as far as execution of skills…”

He trails off, letting the silence speak for itself.

“I appreciate a good refined skillset,” Suigetsu says, nodding, and there’s that smirk again. As quickly as it came, though, it’s gone, and he returns to the subject at hand. “Sasuke is pretty dexterous with kunai, though between you and me, I think his brother was better.”

“Did you know Itachi?”

“Not personally, but Sasuke talks about him _a lot_. I don’t think he even realizes how much he talks about his brother, actually. He wants to be the silent, broody type so badly but he’s _way_ too chatty for that.”

Speaking of how chatty Sasuke is, the fighting has paused again, interrupted by Sasuke’s latest villain monologue.

“Criminy, just beat each other up, already!” Suigestu whines. “This fight is boring.”

Sai chuckles, but the girls both look at him and Suigetsu reproachfully.

Karin interjects first. “You should be supporting Sasuke, not cheering for him to lose,” she hisses.

“I don’t want him to _lose_ ,” Suigetsu defends, “I just want the fight to be interesting.”

Sakura turns on Sai. “If you had just let _me_ fight instead of Mister talk no jutsu over there, this fight would’ve been over in three punches.”

“We owed it to Naruto to try to bring Sasuke back alive,” Sai says, placatingly. “You would’ve turned his head into a purée.”

“Maybe it’s what he deserves,” Sakura says, inspecting her nails. “He’s certainly put us through hell enough. I rather think a swift death would be merciful.”

Karin gapes. “How dare you!”

“Karin, right?” Sakura says gently. Sai is immediately suspicious.

“Yes…” Karin agrees.

“Listen, Karin. I used to be in love with Sasuke. I really was, or I thought so at least. But have you like, listened to him lately? The kind of violent, ridiculous, maniacal ‘I’m so misunderstood and that means I’m going to destroy an entire village of people who, on the whole, had little to nothing to do with my shitty childhood’ _bullshit_ that he spews?”

“It’s not _bullshit_ —” Karin begins.

“Look, his brother did a horrible thing, under horrible circumstances, and then Sasuke got essentially kidnapped, manipulated and groomed by Orochimaru, then _who the hell knows_ what’s going on with that Madara fucker… I get it. Maybe it’s not even entirely his fault that things turned out like this.

“But you have to admit that Sasuke has fully embraced this evil villain stance, and he would kill you without much thought if he decided it served his own personal interests.”

Karin opens her mouth, ostensibly to defend Sasuke’s honor – which Sai honestly doubts the existence of—when Sasuke yells with, Sai will admit, an impressive amount of conviction.

“Anyone who stands in my path towards justice for my brother, my clan, will perish where they stand,” Sasuke proclaims.

“I can’t let you do that,” Naruto says grimly, wiping the blood from his mouth.  

“You won’t have a choice,” sneers Sasuke.

Sakura waves a hand in their direction. “Do you hear that crap?” she asks Karin as another chidori screeches through the air and hurtles towards Naruto.

“Sacrifices are necessary, and—”

“Karin. Please. I know he’s cute. _Believe me,_ I get it. But is a pretty face worth being in love with a guy who is off-the-rails psycho?”

“He’s not _psycho_ , he’s _dedicated_.”

Sai can’t help but laugh a little. “Karin, may I ask you a question?”

She narrows her eyes at him, as though she might be able to detect his question before he asks it.

“Fine.”

“Why do you think Sasuke puts up with you?”

“Damn, you went straight for the jugular,” Suigetsu giggles, and Sai hesitates to think it, but it sounds _flirtatious_. “No preamble or anything. I like that.”

Sai narrows his eyes a moment, considering why Suigetsu is being so coquettish, but dismisses the thought when Karin replies.

“Sasuke cares about me,” Karin insists.

“Sasuke would feed you to that weird plant man for one kunai,” Sakura informs her.

“He would not!” Karin whines. “He cares about me. He _needs_ me.”

“Listen, Karin,” Sakura says, tone serious. “I know we’re on opposing sides or whatever, but let’s forget about that for a minute. Sasuke is _using_ you for his personal vendetta. He doesn’t care about you as a person, and he is certainly not going to fall in love with you. If he’s still capable of love, my bet is it’s some sort of weird fetish thing with Naruto.”

“I could see it,” Suigetsu shrugs.

“And at this point, I’m not sure Naruto would still go for him,” Sai adds.

“Well that’s what happens when you’re an _asshole_ ,” Sakura says primly.

Suigetsu seems to consider the situation for a moment. “While I can’t say I’m perfect, I do have to admit, you may have a point. Sasuke won’t even let me kill people I want to sometimes.”

Sai furrows his brow. That seems somewhat incongruent with Uchiha ‘You Will All Die By My Hand’ Sasuke. _And it also makes Suigetsu slightly less attractive_ , Sai thinks, before catching himself.

_Focus, Sai_.

So Sasuke won’t give Suigetsu carte blanche on who he can kill. They are _shinobi_ , and that means murder sometimes. It’s a fact of life.

Therefore, there must be some reason why Sasuke won’t ‘let’ Suigetsu kill people, right?

“Does it perhaps have to do with who you want to kill?” Sai asks.

“The last time I asked, it was just some random guy, but he really pissed me off, and I wanted to tear his head off. But Sasuke said no. He wants to keep all the murder to himself,” Suigetsu huffs.

Sai considers. “I’m beginning to question if anything Sasuke does has much logic behind it.”

Once more, their discussion is interrupted by yelling from the fight that everyone had nearly forgotten was happening right next to them.

It’s unusually quiet, considering who is fighting: Naruto is the normally the first to start yelling like a fool, and Sasuke, not known for his self-control, easily rises to the bait.

They seem surprisingly focused on their fighting, though, each of them heaving with exertion.

Sai can tell that their chakra stores are still high enough, but that may be more due to the fact that both of them had vast stores to begin with.

When they’ve caught their breath again, Naruto breaks the silence.

Because, well, of course he does.

“I wish it didn’t have to be like this, Sasuke,” he says, and the sincerity of his regret saturates his voice. “I held onto the hope that I could have my friend back, but—”

“Friends?” Sasuke interrupts. “We were never friends. You honestly think someone of my caliber, of my prestige, from the _Uchiha clan_ , would be friends with someone as sloppy, pathetic and talentless as you?”

“You—”

“Without the kyuubi, you would be _nothing_ , and you’re worth more to me dead than alive. So, you can take your precious bonds of friendship and teamwork and go fuck yourself with it,” he sneers. “My hatred is the only thing I need to achieve my goals. Nothing and no one else.”

There’s a heavy silence that hangs in the wake of that statement.

Sakura’s exasperation hits a new level of Done, and even Sai feels the surprise on his face.

He should never have underestimated Sasuke’s ability to say absolutely wild, villainous, nonsense.

Karin’s jaw is gaping.

Surely, she must realize that there’s no way to spin that sentence and come out a winner.

After a moment, she closes her mouth.

Opens it, as if to speak, thinks better of it, and closes it again.

Karin sighs deeply.

“Yeah, alright. I can see where you’re coming from.”

Sakura and Sai breathe a sigh of relief, and Suigetsu chuckles.

Karin slaps Suigetsu. “This is your fault, I just know it is.”

“What?” Suigestu whines, rubbing his shoulder. “Not my fault you have no taste.”

“Well you could have said something,” Karin continues. “You’ve always been a terrible teammate. You could’ve made yourself useful for once.”

“Would you have ever listened to me?” Suigetsu asks, examining his fingernails.

Karin sighs. “No of course not, but you still could’ve tried. Great, now _I_ feel like the idiot, when that’s supposed to be _your_ job. Geez, stupid really does run in the family, doesn’t it?”

Sai cocks his head, confused. “Your family has a history of being stupid?”

“Well, Naruto _is_ my cousin…” she says, as though somehow, it’s obvious.

“He’s your WHAT?!” Sakura shrieks.

Suigetsu is once again lost to laughter.

Sai examines Karin’s face, and doesn’t see much family resemblance, but perhaps it’s the hair color that’s stopping him from seeing the similarities. There _is_ something about the eyes…

“You do both seem to have very narrow focuses,” Sai comments, figuring it’s a safe topic.

“And an unhealthy obsession with Sasuke,” Suigetsu adds, covering his smile.

“This is ridiculous. Alright, what do you say we break up this pissing contest and wrangle ourselves an Uchiha brat who seriously needs a time out?” Sakura suggests.

“They’re not really making much progress on the whole ‘beating the shit out of each other’ thing, are they?” Suigetsu sighs wistfully.

“This is quite an uneventful fight,” Sai agrees. “Alright, Sakura, you can join in. But remember, we’re _trying_ to take him in alive.”

“You didn’t say conscious!” Sakura calls, and launches herself directly at Sasuke, who is making a show of drawing out his kunai, solely focused on Naruto.

Naruto only notices Sakura because he’s still got a kagebushin hanging around, whose eyes go wide and cover his mouth like a schoolchild trying to hide his glee.

Sakura doesn’t even try to disguise her attack, and lands her punch exactly where she was aiming: right in Sasuke’s throat.

Sai and Suigetsu flinch in unison, knowing how badly that must have hurt.

Sakura the delivers a swift kick to Sasuke’s groin, kneeing him in the chin as he falls, and he goes limp in her arms.

She lays him down gently on the ground in what almost looks like tenderness, and then she punches him in the stomach to finish things off.

“Sakura,” Sai warns. “He’s already unconscious…”

“He deserved it,” she says trivially. “Now help me tie him up.”

Sai does as instructed, feeling Suigetsu’s eyes on him as the boy drinks deeply from his water bottle.

Karin seems to be in a perpetual state of shocked introspection, muttering something inarticulate under her breath.

When Sasuke is trussed up, Sakura hoists him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“Well, we’d better get this back to Konoha,” Sakura says, gesturing to the lump of former-teammate.

“Where will you two go?” Sai asks Suigetsu and Karin.

Suigetsu shrugs. “I guess I should probably find a new goal in life or something. Maybe do some more training with my huge sword,” he says, and something about the way his eyes glint tells Sai he’s not entirely talking about the blade strapped to his back.

Sai swallows thickly.

“Could I… come to Konoha with you?” Karin asks hesitantly.

Sai raises his eyebrows. “What for?”

“I have _loads_ of intelligence on the Akatsuki, and a new, burning desire to fuck over as many of Sasuke’s plans as possible,” she replies simply.

Sakura, who is apparently the de facto leader now without Sai having realized it, considers. “Alright, but you’re going to have to prove yourself. We’ll keep a sharp eye on you.”

Karin rolls her eyes, but admits, “That’s probably fair.”

They wave goodbye to Suigetsu, who offers a wolfish grin to Sai and wiggles his fingers at him.

They’ve only been walking for a few minutes when Sai feels a strange breeze creep over his skin.

He turns around to see what – or who—is there, and somehow finds a paper airplane in his hands.

Frowning, he examines it, and then sees writing on the wing: _I’ll be in Ame, if you’re interested._

_Interested in what?_ Sai wonders.

Then he thinks back to Suigetsu’s facial expressions.

His body language.

Hmm.

Interested, indeed. 

**Author's Note:**

> so this is a thing that happened. and now you've read it too.   
> @ siseja i hope you appreciate this very silly fic uwu
> 
> remember, no spoilers in your comments please :)
> 
> come find me on tumblr as ricekrispyjoints, if you're into that kind of thing


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